First we had to get our pirate on, so we made some eye patches this morning before school. They’re a snap to make and need just a few simple things. Wanna make your own? Sure, you do! Arrrgh!

You’ll need:

scissors

fabric (could use construction paper, but fabric is softer around the eye area)

tape measure

hole punch

yarn

scotch tape

1. Measure your child’s eye area. Gently, of course. I measured E’s with a soft tape measure and the area around her eye was about 3″ X 3.5″.

2. Cut a rectangle of the fabric. E wanted orange — no standard black for her.

3. Shape the pattern for the patch. Since it is going to cover one of your child’s eyes, you don’t want to have a flat triangle. Instead, you want to form a slight cone so your kiddo can blink at will. Here’s how you do that:

a. Cut a line from the midpoint of the bottom of the rectangle up to the center point.

b. You are going pull Point A on top of Point B to form the cone. Tape it together (or you could hand sew it closed with a couple quick stitches, if you prefer).

Form the patch: Put Point A on Point B, then tape together.

c. Round the top edge (can be done before or after you form the cone).

4. Punch holes in the sides of the patch and string enough yarn to encircle your child’s head.

5. Put it on and yell “Arrrgh!” in the backyard as your mom tries to take your picture. These action shots are hard!

Wear your eyepatch with pride and yell “Avast, mateys!” randomly as you head to the bus stop.

II. Watch a Pirate-Themed Movie

And while we’re talking about pirates… you could see a pirate movie. Some of my favorites include:

Any of the Pirates of the Carribean movies: I love Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow character.

Hook: Remember that one with Robin Williams and Julia Roberts and Dustin Hoffman?

The Princess Bride: The Dread Pirate Roberts! At one point in my life, I had seen this movie so many times I knew the dialogue by heart. It was one of my go-to stress breakers when I was in grad school.

The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything: This is one of the Veggie Tales’ movies, the ones that include a morality lesson for kids. Cute and funny with catchy songs, it’s on Netflix Instant Play today.

III. Knit Your Own Pirate Wear

If you’ve been around the knitting blogosphere for a while, you’ve probably come across these cute patterns from Julia Farwell-Clay. Every year, I swear I’m going to drop everything and knit these on Talk Like A Pirate Day — they are far too cute for words.

1. Arrrgyle Socks (Ravelry Link to the graph). The original pattern was posted on her website long ago — that’s where I first saw them. The name alone cracks me up!

2. Kid’s Pirate Hat (another Ravelry Link, although the pattern is in the archives of her blog, Moth Heaven). Isn’t that fantastic? And…bonus! You’d be well on your way toward a costume for Halloween (in 42 days, but who’s counting?).

Have a great day, me hearties!

E tried to engage Pirate Lou into a swashbuckling sword fight. Lou, in turn, tried to eat the Nerf sword.